Shore birds breed on the ground; their eggs and offspring are exposed, where they can fall prey to predators such as snakes, lizards and foxes.

Image copyrightVojtěch Kubelka

Image caption
Grey-tailed tattler in the Arctic stretching before migration

The researchers looked at data collected over 70 years for more than 38,000 nests of 200 bird species, including 111 shore birds, in 149 locations on all continents.

They compared data on climate and bird populations and found a link between nest predation and climate change on a global scale, but particularly in the Arctic.

Rates of daily nest predation in the Arctic have increased three-fold in the last 70 years. A two-fold increase was found in Europe, most of Asia and North America, while a smaller change was observed in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere.

Although climate change is thought to be a key driver, the precise mechanisms are unclear, and other factors can’t be ruled out.

Dr Vojtěch Kubelka of the Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, and a co-researcher on the study said: “The Arctic, with recently elevated rates of nest predation, is no longer a safe harbour for breeding birds. On the contrary, the Arctic now represents an extensive ecological trap for migrating shorebirds from a nest predation perspective.”

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